Elastic horseshoe



no ll bdel.)

P. H. GRAVES.

ELASTIC HORSESHUE.

No. 591,601, Patented Oct. 12,1897.

' INVENTOR I! NE EZY'MQezZ-rar/ea t W 1 I Attorney z mmms warms c0Moraumo vasmwom a a UNITED STATES i PATENT Prion.

'PHILANDER H. GRAVES,

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ELASTIC HORSESHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 591,601, dated October12, 1897.

Application filed Apri1 2 4, 1897.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PHILANDER H. GRAVES,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county ofCook and State'of Illi nois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Horseshoes; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description'of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

This invention relates to horseshoes, and has for its object to providean elastic or resilient horseshoe having removably fitted and embeddedtherein a metal strip or reinforcement constituting an inelastic frame,through which the nails or other fasteners pass, by means of which theshoe is secured to the animals hoof, the arrangement being such that thesaid strip or frame is located wholly within the plane of the shoeproper, so as to cause the heads of the nails to be incased bei tweenthe side portions of the shoe Where from the'und er side.

they afford no projections.

The improved horseshoe isalso provided on both surfaces and at the toeand heel with reinforcing wear-plates, thepurpose of which will behereinafter described.

The invention consists in a horseshoe embodying certain novel featuresand details of construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafterfully described, illustrated in the drawings,and incorporated in theclaims here to appended.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of ahorseshoe constructed in accordance with this invention, looking Fig. 2is a similar view with the inelastic strip or frame omitted. Fig. 3 is adetail section taken through the toe of the shoe. Fig. 4 is a similarsection taken through the heel of the shoe. Fig. 5 is a detailperspective view of the heel portion of the shoe, showing a slightmodification.

. Similar .numeralsof referencev designate corresponding parts in theseveral figures of the drawings.

. Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the main body of the shoe,which may be of any suitable-size and shape and which is composed ofrubber or analogous material. The

Serial No. 633,646- (No model.)

toe of the shoe is increased-in width and pro vided with arearwardly-projecting V-sh'aped extension 2, giving to the shoe a heartshape and increasing the wearing and bearing surface of the shoe at thetoe portion. Upon its under side the shoe is provided with a continuousgroove 3, extending from one heel portion to the other, the ends of thegroove terminating just short of the extremity of the heel portionssufficiently to leave room for a pair of heel-plates,hereinafterdescribed.

- Within the groove 3 is a metal strip or frame 4, corresponding inlength and shape to the groove, said strip or frame being convex incross-section,with its rounded side disposed inward andfitting snuglythe rounded base or floor of the groove 3. fiat side of said strip orframe is located within the plane of the bottom of the shoe, so as toprevent the nails from projecting below the lower surface of the shoe.At suit-v able points the strip or frame 4: is provided with openings 5to receive the nails, and these openings are countersunk, so as to letthe headsof the nails lie flush with the frame or strip. The strip ismade of less thickness than the depth of the groove 3, so that the edges7 of the shoe will project below the bottom surface of such strip orframe, thus forming ribs, which will engage the ground and guard againstthe lateral slipping of the shoe when traveling upon smooth and wet oricy surfaces. The strip or frame 4, instead of being exactly in the formof a horseshoe, has its central portion deflected or given a backwardV-shaped offset, as indicated at 8, so as to make room for a toe-plate9.

The toeplate 9 consists of a single piece of sheet metal which is bentso as to lie under the toe portion of the rubber shoe, the front edge ofsaid plate being bent around and upward in front of the toe portion ofthe shoe and having its edge rolled, as indicated at 10, and embedded inthe rubber, as clearlyshown in the sectional view, thus preventing anypossibility of the toe-plate becoming detached. The rear portion of theplate 9 is pressed inward, so as to conform to the groove 3, asindicated at 11, and is extended along the rear portion of the grooveand embedded in the The outer or rearwardly-proj ectin g extension atthe center of the toe portion of the shoe, as indicated at 12. Thetoe-plate 9 is thus held securely in place, and in addition to forming areinforcement for the toe-plate, which adds greatly to the life anddurability of the shoe, said plate also affords a bearing for the toeportion of the strip or frame 4.. Upon the upper side of the shoe at thetoe portion is arranged a bearing-plate 13, which has its end portionsrolled and embedded in the rubber similarly to the toe-plate 9, theplate 13 lying flush with the upper surface of the shoe and forming ahearing for the toe of the hoof. Other bearingplates H are located atthe heel ends of the shoe and are intended to receive the heel portionsof the hoof, so as to prevent the same from cutting into the rubber andeffecting a too rapid wearing away of the same. The plates 14 are heldin place by rolling their end'portions and embedding them in the rubberin a manner hereinbefore described.

15 designates a pair of heel-plates which consist of sheet metal, eachhaving its corners rolled and embedded in the rubber of the shoeadjacent to the heel ends thereof, said plates 15 lying flush with theunder side of the shoe and serving to take the excessiy e wear occurringat such points.

By means of the construction above described it will be seen that aresilient horseshoe is obtained which will absorb all jar and vibrationand prevent the same being imparted to the hoofs and legs of the animal.It will also be seen that the peculiar construction described rendersthe slipping in any direction unlikely, thus adapting the shoeparticularly for wet and icy weather and obviating the necessity forusing calks. The construction described also combines simplicity anddurability and will outlast many sets of ealks, the shoe preventing anyslipping as long as it lasts.

The toe and heel plates prevent too rapid wearing away of the rubber andgreatly increase the life of the shoe, as the rubber will wear away nofaster than the said reinforcingplates. By making the metal strip orplate of less depth than the groove in which it fits not only are theheads of the nails concealed and prevented from projecting beyond theplane of the shoe, but oppositely-located ribs are provided which serveto prevent the slipping of the shoe.

In addition to the advantages above enumerated the shoe as a whole is toa certain extent flexible laterally, so that it may accommodate thenatural growth of the animals foot and not cause too great contractionthereof, which, as is well understood, is extremely injurious to theanimal. The light metal frame or strip permits the shoe to shape itselfto the animals foot, and the shoe as a whole forms an agreeable cushionto the animals foot, which is especially desirable when traveling uponasphalt or stone pavements. The upper and lower plates are preferablyformed of spring-steel,and the rolled or curled edges of said plates lieapart and separate from each other and do not interfere with theelasticity of the shoe as a whole. By this construction a practicallynoiseless shoe is produced.

If desired, the heel-plates 15 maybe formed integrally with the frame4:, the ends of the frame being expanded or widened to form theheel-plates. It may also be desirable to provide a continuous groove inthe lower surface of the frame 4 instead of counter-sinking the openings5 to receive the nails, the groove serving to. admit the heads of thenails, as shown in Fig. 5.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. Ahorseshoe composed of rubber and having at its toe portion arcarwardly-proj ectin g V-shaped extension giving increased width andbearing-surface to said too portion, said shoe being provided in itsunder side with a groove extending from heel to heel, in combinationwith a metal strip or frame having a central V-shapcd offset and locatedin said groove which is of corresponding shape and provided withopenings for the reception of attaching means, substantially asdescribed.

2. A horseshoe composed of rubber and provided in its under side with agroove, in combination with a metal strip or frame located in saidgroove and having openings for the reception of attaching means, and atoe-plate formed from sheet metal and embracing the toe portion of theshoe, said toe-plate extending around the under side of the shoe andhaving its edge curled or rolled and embedded in the rubber,substantially as described.

3. A horseshoe provided in its under side with a groove, in combinationwith a metal strip or frame located in said groove and provided withopenings for the attaching means, and a toe-plate formed of sheet metalbent around the under side of the shoe and having its front edge curledor rolled and embedded in the rubber, said plate being also deflected orcurved in the plane of the base of the groove so as to form a seat orbearing-surface for the metal strip or frame, substantially asdescribed.

4. Ahorseshoe composed of rubber and provided along its under side witha groove, in combination with a metal strip or frame fitted in saidgroove and provided with openings for the attaching means and a pair ofheel-plates each consisting of a piece of sheet metal having its cornersor edges rolled and embedded in the rubber, said heel-plates being flushwith the under side of the shoe, substantially as described.

5. Ahorseshoe composed of rubber and provided in its under side with agroove, in combination with a metal strip or frame arranged in saidgroove and having openings for the specification in the presence of twosubscribattaching means, and bearing-plates on the ing Witnesses. upperside Of the shoe arranged at the toe and heel end thereof, said plateshaving their edge PHILANDER GRAVEb' 5 portions rolled and embedded inthe rubber, Witnesses:

substantially as described. A. L. DANFORTH,

In testimony whereof I have signed this 0. G. BIRD.

